Garioch Flood Recovery plans

The paper notes that flooding occurred on two occasions between Sunday, January 3 and Friday, January 8. On the first occasion the flooding was localised in Inverurie and Kintore and was the result of “drains and sewers being unable to cope as well as the saturated ground”.

On January 7, based on SEPA predictions, rest centres were sent up, including one in Kintore at the Public Hall.

In Kintore 36 houses and two businesses were flooded. In Inverurie and Port Elphinstone 94 houses and 15 businesses were flooded with 47 houses flooded in Kemnay and a further 12 in Premnay and Auchleven. In all, 17 individuals had to be found emergency accommodation.

The Emergency Response Phase, which lasted until January 11, was led by Police Scotland with support from the emergency services, NHS Grampian and Aberdeenshire Council and “on the ground with tremendous assistance from volunteers”.

Aiming to reduce potential future flooding, the paper identifies the need to clear and maintain drains and ditches as a high priority.

In Kintore the other priorities are:

Macallan Road: dredge out the channel, giving it more capacity or build a retaining wall/barrier behind the properties.

Kingsfield Road: repair the wall at the south, beside the bridge, and increase the height of the slope/bank, extending this right down to the bridge.

Northern Road: divert the Lochburn flow to stay behind the embankment, but that would mean taking over some of the agricultural land.

Or stop the flow, when flooding is imminent, by moveable barriers/sluice gates installed on the culverts/underpass, stopping water access in and out of the area behind the Fire Station. Potential help from Network Rail, who may be keen to avoid water flowing under the embankment and perhaps undermining the embankment?